65 pages • 2 hours read
Patricia MacLachlanSarah, Plain and Tall
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1985A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Essay Questions
Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.
Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.
Scaffolded Essay Questions
Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.
1. The importance of family and community is a common theme in literature.
- In Sarah, Plain and Tall, how do characters think about family?
- Examine 2 characters whose need for or finding of family drives their development. Include at least 1 direct quote from the text to support your discussion of each character.
- In your concluding sentence or sentences, discuss what these characters’ arcs suggest about the nature of family.
2. Epistolary literature uses written communication like letters, emails, or text messages to tell a story.
- In Sarah, Plain and Tall, how and where does the author employ the epistolary format?
- Discuss 3 ways letters are used as a narrative device in the story. Be sure to analyze the effect of the inclusion of the letters.
